Bryant Charges Met With Shock, Disbelief

Those who know Kobe Bryant were shocked at first and then felt disbelief when they learned he is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in Colorado.

"I don't believe it. If it comes out to be true, I still won't believe it," former NBA player Gary Grant said Monday during a break at the NBA summer league in Long Beach, Calif. "People just don't believe that it's his name involved.

"I love him as a person and as a player. I have never seen anything that makes me think he lies," added Grant, who has known Bryant since the Los Angeles Lakers' star came into the league in 1996.

David Carter, head of The Sports Business Group marketing firm in Redondo Beach, Calif., was hard-pressed to remember the last time news about an athlete caused such a huge ripple across Los Angeles, the rest of the country, and even globally .

"The disbelief of this reminded me of Magic Johnson's AIDS announcement, knocked the wind out of everybody," Carter said in a telephone interview. "While this is still speculation, there's the connection to the Lakers and the same feeling around town."

Eagle County District Attorney Mark Hurlbert said Monday in Eagle, Colo., where Bryant turned himself in for arrest last Friday, that prosecutors may not decide until next week whether to charge Bryant.

The Lakers' five-time All-Star is accused of committing the sexual assault _ which under Colorado law could range from fondling to rape _ on June 30 while staying at a resort near Vail.

Bryant was in Colorado to have arthroscopic knee surgery, returned to his home in California afterward, then willingly came back to Eagle to turn himself in to authorities on July 4. He was released shortly afterward on $25,000 bail.

His lawyer, Pamela MacKey, said Bryant expects to be completely exonerated.

Lakers assistant Jim Cleamons said, "Until we know the story, Kobe just has to remain in our thoughts and our prayers, and hopefully this situation will be resolved as quickly as possible."

Lakers teammate Kareem Rush is convinced Bryant is innocent.

"Knowing him as a teammate and knowing his character, it's totally ludicrous," Rush said of the allegations. "He's a high-profile individual, and people are looking for opportunities to set him up. You know we've got to watch our backs, and this is a prime example of what happens if you don't.

"I know Kobe's going to be all right."

Even if Bryant isn't charged, the allegations could taint his squeaky-clean image.

"Unless you demonstrate that the woman making the charges is a complete fraud, just the accusations themselves will have an adverse effect on Kobe Bryant's reputation," said Marc Ganis, president of Sportscorp Ltd. in Chicago.

"Even if he is exonerated, it could still have an impact. When you're paid $45 million for saying you like a certain brand of sneakers, this is the other side of the coin," Ganis said in a phone interview.

Carter said Bryant, the son of former NBA player Joe Bryant who was raised in Italy, has a much higher international profile than most athletes.

"He's one of the few guys who has global appeal," Carter said. "It's one thing for us to be focused on the impact of this domestically, but because he transcends sports and culture and borders, if they (the accusations) are true, the impact will be felt on a global scale, not just here."

Carter believes that, if the accusations prove true, it could be difficult for the public to forgive Bryant.

"I think a lot of people in this country might not like it, but they understand infidelity or occasional recreational drug use," he said. "Those kinds of things make people human _ we all make mistakes. But sexual assault, that's different. Something of that magnitude would devastate him as a sports marketer."

Ganis said the accusations obviously have more impact because of Bryant's positive image.

"He works hard, got married before having children, married the mother of his child, did everything right," Ganis said. "I think in the case of someone like him, he's earned the benefit of the doubt because of the way he's lived."